Displaying items by tag: Tamil Nadu

India: The state government of Tamil Nadu has scaled down its support for the Amma Cement Supply Scheme. Sales data shows that the scheme failed to meet its targets in 2015 – 2016 and 2016 – 2017, according to the Hindu newspaper. Its highest level of sales was 52% of procurement in August 2016. The subsidised cement scheme was launched by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in 2014 to help lower and middle income groups purchase cement at subsidised prices.

India: ICRA is expecting cement demand is pick up in the fourth quarter of the 2017 – 2018 financial year following weak real estate activity, sand shortage and Goods and Service tax (GST) implementation issues in the first half of the year. In its October 2017 update the credit ratings agency said that demand was expected to benefit from the housing sector and road and irrigation projects in the infrastructure sector, according to the Press Trust of India. It added that the profitability of the industry depends on the industry’s ability to control prices given that higher input costs for fuel and freight are expected.

The credit ratings agency said that cement demand remained subdued across the country due to various local issues. In the North, especially in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Punjab, the offtake had been impacted by a sand shortage and lack of labour. In the West the implementation of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) Bill resulted in construction activity slowing down. In the South, Tamil Nadu and Kerala were hit as demand was affected by the sand shortage, drought impacting rural offtake and weak housing activity. A recent ban on sand mining in Bihar is also likely to reduce sales volume growth in the eastern region in coming months.

India: FLSmidth has signed a contract to deliver an OK 52-4 cement mill system for India Cements’ Shankar Nagar plant in Tamil Nadu. The engineering company will carry out the system engineering, procurement and supply machinery for a cement production capacity of 200t/hr of Ordinary Portland Cement at 3500 Blaine. The supply also includes a ROKSH 82 separator and gear units from FLSmidth product company, MAAG Gear.

"This contract reflects the strong relations we have had with the India Cements for almost a decade and our extensive knowledge in the region. We are happy to partner with them again," said Country Head of FLSmidth India, Carsten Riisberg Lund.

The new mill will replace the existing ball mills at the plant. The contract is scheduled for completion by the end of 2018.

India: France’s Fives has receive an order from AMCL Machinery to supply a new FCB TSV Classifier 4500 THF. The classifier will be used by Ramco Cements at its R R Nagar Plant in Tamil Nadu. Previously the cement producer has installed FCB TSV classifiers at its grinding plants in Kolagat, Salem and Chengalpattu.

India: The Tamil Nadu state Industries Minister M C Sampath says that the Tamil Nadu Cements Corporation (Tancem) upgrade project is 60% complete at its Ariyalur cement plant. The US$116m upgrade at the government-owned plant is being undertaken by Larsen & Toubro with FLSmidth, according to the Press Trust of India. US$24m has been spent on the project so far. Construction is expected to be completed in 2018 and the upgrade will increase the plant’s production capacity to 1.5Mt/yr from 0.5Mt/yr.

India: The government of the Puducherry union territory has proposed a subsidised cement scheme for low and middle-income residents. The scheme will be named after former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, according to the Press Trust of India. The project intends to emulate the Amma Cement scheme currently running in Tamil Nadu. Cement for the scheme will be procured outside of the region due to a lack of production plants.

India: Sagar Cements, India Cements and Bharathi Cements have continued to defend public concerns over cement pricing due to economic trends beyond their control. In a press conference the producers blamed rising input costs, distribution costs, taxes and high margins by dealers, according to the Times of India newspaper. They added that the key demand drivers for the industry are residential house building and government projects.

S Srikanth Reddy, Executive Director of Sagar Cements forecast that cement demand will rise by 10 – 18% in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh over the next two to three years due to large government-run infrastructure projects. Tamil Nadu and Kerala are expected to rise by no more than 5% and Karnataka is expected to rise by 2 – 5%.

However, despite increases in the short term, the cement producers forecast problems for the industry in the south of the country, and in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in particular, due to production overcapacity as producers increased their installed capacity in anticipation of high demand. At present they say that producers are forced to run plants at 60% production utilisation rates with high volatility in price rates in a highly fragmented market with over 50 brands.

India: My Home Industries plans to open a new cement grinding plant at Tuticorin, Tamil Nadu in January 2017. The new plant is expected to expand the company’s market share in southern India, according to the New Indian Express newspaper. The cement producer has a production capacity of 8.4Mt/yr and the new unit will increase the total to 10Mt/yr.

“We are leaders in Andhra and Telangana. In Tamil Nadu we have about 7% market share and in Karnataka, it is about 5 – 6%. This plant would help strengthen our operations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala,” said Samba Siva Rao, the executive director of My Home Industries. He added that at present cement is transported to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka from a plant in Kurnool.

India: Commotion broke out at a public hearing seeking views on a proposed second quarry at a plant near Sendurai in Tamil Nadu for Ramco Cement. The police removed 13 attendees who threw chairs and caused disruption at the meeting, according to the Hindu newspaper. The hearing was organised by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board.

India: Dalmia Cement Bharat has launched its Dalmia DSP Cement brand of cement. Senior Executive Director and group head B K Singh told the Press Trust of India that this new product will make concrete buildings more durable and it will be packaged to prevent water damage, allowing for longer storage times. The product will be released first in Tamil Nadu before a phased introduction in other states in the south of the country.